Nazer Erzhanev

Nazer Erzhanev (1977-2008) was a Kazakh al-Qaeda member who killed 76 people in a series of vehicle-ramming and shooting attacks in New York City in 2008.

Biography
Nazer Erzhanev was born in Aktobe, Kazakhstan in 1977, and he worked as a bus driver before becoming a radical Islamist during the 2000s. He was angered by the US involvement in the Afghanistan War, and he decided to join al-Qaeda and train with them in Pakistan. He received al-Qaeda training, including in the use of assault weapons and RPGs, and, in 2008, he was tasked with carrying out a terrorist attack in New York City. He flew to John F. Kennedy International Airport and stayed at an apartment in The Bronx, from which he planned an attack. Although he intended to make Times Square his target, he ultimately decided upon random targets.

Attack
Erzhanev left his apartment in the Grand Concourse section of The Bronx and opened fire on crowds of people near a public park, using an assault rifle to spray them with fire. He was indiscriminate in his shooting, killing men and women, both young and old, and of all races. He then fired on policemen who were arriving at the scene, and he escaped on foot to Fordham, where he went on to kill more people. After killing more responding policemen, he stole their car and drove it to Central Park in Manhattan, where he went on to kill more pedestrians. SWAT troopers responded to the continued shooting, and Erzhanev was killed by the SWAT troopers on a street next to the park.